islands fine burgers & drinks | huntington beach

Editor’s note: Please welcome to This Tasty Life our newest minion writer: Cris! I sent Cris off to Islands since I feel like I’ve been there about a billion times already and that review needed a fresh pair of new eyes. Happy reading! – Mary

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To celebrate the NCAA March Madness, Islands was having a Madness combo that ran from March 15th to April 2nd. Although, they did still have the combo when I went—April 3rd—heh—which now brings me to my apologies for the delay on this review.

Anywho, the Madness combo consisted of a hot dog (Nalu Nalu or Pipeline) and a 16oz. Coors Light.

I probably would have went for the Nalu Nalu dog if my mind and stomach weren’t already set on their new Sriracha Smack Burger. Observe the Smack…

[sriracha smack burger]

In between the warm, soft buns lays a medium beef patty topped with sriracha cream cheese, soy-sriracha glaze, pickled peppers, pepper jack cheese, lettuce, onion, and crispy bacon. I actually thought it wasn’t that bad, it definitely had a kick to it. Me being me, I opted for the Sriracha Smack with avocado — no regrets! In fact, I think it added a slight creaminess to the burger and made it much more yummy. I’m usually not a big fan of bacon on burgers — I know, hate me — but in this case, it added a nice crunchy texture, offsetting the other moist ingredients. The patty was cooked just right to my liking; it was moist and still had some pink to it. Also, there was a good amount of glaze to not drown out everything else. As for the side, I got onion rings, which were crispy, not too salty, and definitely not too greasy — I was happy :]. Overall, the burger itself was decent, I wouldn’t mind ordering it again.

[big wave burger]

My friend who came with me (let’s call her Duchess 5.0) ordered the Big Wave with Island Reds™–crispy fried red onions. Unfortunately that was a little bit more done that what had been ordered (medium). Given that the Big Wave does not come with a sauce, but with a bit of mustard, the done patty made the burger a bit dry, especially with the Island Reds™ and toasted bun. Instead of the Island Fries, she got a side of the tortilla soup. The tortilla was soup was delicious, a bit salty for my taste, but according to Duchess 5.0, it was a little more salty than usual. The soup did have chunks of avocado in it, which was a bit surprising to me, cause I don’t really hear about avocado in soup too often, or at all really (I don’t go to Islands that often, hehehe :X ). I wouldn’t mind coming back just for a cup of that.

[cheddar fries]

Our friendly server, Will, went ahead and ordered one of his favorite appetizers, the cheddar fries topped with applewood smoked bacon. These were quite delicious with ranch.

[buffalo wings]

The Buffalo Wings: Wings tossed in traditional spicy sauce, served with carrots, celery, and ranch dressing.

[big island iced tea]

For our refreshments, we ordered us some strawberry lemonade and the Big Island Iced Tea — which is basically like a Long Island Iced Tea, but more tropical and fruity!

[luponic distortion]

This…the Luponic Distortion…No. 001. Uhm…“No. 001?” The Luponic Distortion is an IPA-styled beer that will be remixed every 90 days—the base beer will remain the same, but the hops will change. The No. 001 has a blend of six undisclosed hops, all of which help produce a beer that smells sweet and tastes crispy. Duchess 5.0 and I have concluded it gave off an aroma that was very much like lychee :D. Not every Islands carries the Luponic Distortion; Huntington Beach’s Islands is one of the very few to have it, and Jen, the manager, was so kind to give us a couple of tasters. So if you’re in the area, stop by and give it a sip!